Back in the saddle...

Summertime and the living is easy... I  wish this was true. The summer is short and sweet in Colorado and it seems there is never enough time. If only I didn't have to work for a living! The wife and I love to garden and this year has been good so far.

The tomato behind the cabbage is just one plant, possible the largest cherry tomato we have ever grown. It's a constant battle to keep the weeds at bay.

A couple weeks ago we were treated to an amazing double rainbow. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it all in one frame. 

One of our other hobbies is beekeeping. We lost two of our three hives last winter, but did a successful split on the remaining hive this spring. The two hives are doing well at the moment, however, these are tough times for bees.

With so much to distract me it's amazing I'm getting anything done on the boat, however, I'm plugging along. The curvature of the sheer on the melonseed is quite pronounced. I had to laminate three pieces on each side to get the 3/4" x 1 1/4" overall dimension specified for the sheer cleats. I did this one piece at a time using 1/4" x 1 1/2" mahogany with epoxy as the adhesive. The cleats really stiffened things up. Next, I fabricated the mast step using 3/4" mahogany. The step required a surprising amount of work because of the compound angles and curves. 

  
I decided to put a rabbit on the bottom on the centerboard trunk. This will provide a nice clean joint between the trunk and the bottom.

The trunk logs are made from 1" x 3" mahogany with 1/2" x 3/4" rabbits. All inside surfaces are protected with 6 oz. glass and epoxy. 

After the trunk position was finalized it was safe to proceed with some deck beams.

 I'm using a joint taken from one of Howard Chappell's books on boat building.  

This work is most easily done by hand as every beam is different. I use a very thin backsaw and a couple sharp chisels on the mortise.

The tricky part is getting the length of the beam just right.

Two beams down and many to go...

Next up, cut a hole in the bottom...

A hull lot of fun...

How time flies when you're having fun! As expected, fairing the inside of the hull required more work than the outside. The scraper quickly became the tool of choice. My plan is to leave the inside bright, so I finished up with 220 grit sandpaper. I'm using 6 oz. glass, double layered in the middle, as I did on the outside of the hull. 

The 6 oz. glass easily conforms to the hull shape, but one must be careful not to snag or distort the cloth while wetting out.

Three coats of epoxy and we are ready to sand.

The grayish areas in these photos are an illusion caused by the reflection of the as yet unsanded epoxy.

The interior will be finish sanded with 220 grit paper before varnish is applied. 

The  transom looks splendid under the clear finish. Too bad the inside won't be visible after the deck is applied.

The view from behind.

One of my goals is to avoid excessive use of epoxy. However, it made sense to use a big fat fillet at the stem. 

While preparing the hull for glass I went ahead and laminated some deck beams, using the formula from Iain Oughtred's book on lapstrake boat building. The camber is four inches. 

At last I can get to work on the interior bracing, mast step, centerboard trunk, sheer cleats, floor, deck, etc.... 

Mo mast...

I finished rounding the mast on Sunday. Thought I'd post a few pictures. The mast currently weighs just under 11 pounds.

It's hard to see the taper in the photo above. 

The pencil line is at 14'. A step will be created here for the shrouds. The mast is 1 1/2" in diameter at the step.

These close ups show the lovely consistency of the fir when quartered. The fir sands easily, but not too easily like red cedar or pine.

I still need to fabricate a bolster for the upper block on the throat halyard.

Also, a tenon must be added at the step as an alignment key. The mast diameter is 2 1/2" at the step.

Can't wait to break out the varnish, but first I need to shape the boom and gaff...

Snow day...

The town where I live averages only 14 inches of precipitation per year and we rely on the mountain snow pack for the lion's share of water we use. Last year the snow pack was below average and this year was looking to be the same. Thankfully, we have finally received a gift from mother nature and it has been snowing off and on for three days. We've seen over 16 inches at our house and reports from the mountains have been in feet. As I write this it is coming down again. The view from my shop this AM.

I continue work on the mast, using the smooth plane. I spent some time getting the plane set up just right. It often takes a bit of fussing, but when the blade is sharp, the sole perfectly flat, and the throat properly adjusted, one can get a very clean cut, even against the grain. I've had this plane for 25 years and it's my favorite.

The first task after glue up is to remove extra material, first creating an octagon, then a hexagon. I use an adjustable bevel to maintain the correct angles. This one came from my grandfather.

My approach is incremental as the hexagonal mast emerges. I check the dimensions regularly with calipers and my eye. The eye does not lie, most of the time. 

I hope to avoid using a sanding belt. The belt leaves cross grain scratches, a real pain to remove. I think most of the work can be done with the plane and a scraper. 

The mast keeps getting lighter, a good thing. I was concerned it might be difficult to manage when stepping, not so at all. Current weight is 11.5 pounds.

A birdsmouth mast...

Springtime in the Rockies can be quite fickle and this year is no exception. Sunshine and 70 degrees one day, snow and single digit temperatures the next. The old saying is; "if you don't like the weather wait 15 minutes". I took advantage of the good weather last week to prepare the mast for assembly. I'm using 8/4 fine grain quarter sawn Douglas Fir, acquired locally. The wood was a find at $7.23 per board foot in 18' lengths. I used a 16% wall thickness as the material is close grained and quite stiff with up to 30 rings per inch. The mast is 14' - 6" overall, 2 1/2" at the step, tapering to 3" at the boom, and tapering to 1 1/2" at the top. I made some fixtures to aid in assembly and keep the mast straight while the epoxy cures.

I'm following Ross Lillistone's advice on blocking, using a solid piece between the step and the partner. This piece is tapered to reduce stress where the block ends. The small block is for the top of the mast.

 I used a roller and sponge brush to apply the epoxy, making sure the inside surfaces are well covered. The assembly fixtures made it easy to align the parts while clamping. I used hose clamps and cable ties to hold everything together.

If the staves are properly machined assembly is very easy as the pieces are self aligning.

The finished product looks pretty straight and weighs about 15 pounds. Time to sharpen the jack plane and get to work...

A bare naked hull...

Beautiful weather on Friday provided the opportunity to free the hull from the mold. I've been wondering how much it would weigh at this stage and was pleasantly surprised to find it is fairly light. I’m guessing 70 to 80 pounds, quite easy to move with two people.

A friend and I moved the hull outside while we disassembled the molds. The boat will now be flipped over so I can prepare the inside for fiberglass.

I see quite a bit of scraping and sanding in my future...

Especially around the inner stem...

It's really great to finally see the boat in the upright postion!

A skeg and a prayer...

A short rant on epoxy

Sometimes we do things against our better judgement for reasons that seem quite logical at the time, only to regret our choices later. I hope this is not true of my choice to build with fiberglass. My misgivings date back to the days of polyester resin and I can honestly say if modern epoxy had not come into use I definitely would not be using fiberglass. When I was a cabinetmaker I looked at epoxy as the slightly less evil cousin of Bondo, a really nasty product used mostly in the auto repair business. While modern epoxy is much less toxic, it is still very unpleasant to work with. As of late, I'm wondering if it is really worth all the effort in the long run. Epoxy must be protected from UV in the same way wood must be protected from water. Both require a quality topcoat to stay in good condition. It's true the fiberglass adds some strength and abrasion resistance, but a well maintained traditional boat will probably last just as long. The promise of fiberglass and epoxy is light weight durability and ease of maintenance. I hope this proves to be true.

After a final coat of epoxy the boat kind of resembles a bowling ball; as far as the finish goes. The epoxy dramatically enhances the natural chatoyancy of the mahogany.

I'm eager to get beyond the fiberglass. No matter how much I vacuum, the shop is perpetually covered with a thin coating of epoxy dust. Time to get this boat flipped over!

The Skeg

Barto suggests the use of 3/4" plywood for the skeg. His instructions are to laminate two pieces, creating a 1 1/2" thick blank. The blank is then tapered to 1" in two directions to form the skeg. I'm not using plywood, instead I'm using a very old piece of 6/4 mahogany that seems just right for the job. I'm not sure where this piece came from, but it is exceptionally dense and very dark in color. I've been looking for a project to use it on for years and the board is large enough to provide material for the bottom rub rail too.

My new favorite tool might be the Bosch power planer. It took a lot of the work out of the tapering process. The most difficult part was matching the curve of the hull.

I used some flexible battens to apply clamping pressure, a technique often used in guitar making, but on a much smaller scale. I have also seen this technique used in the Ian Oughtred book on clinker boat building.

In this shot you can see how the skeg is shaped. Just like a wing on a bowling ball...

The finished product.

Next, turn the damn boat over!